Bill O'Reilly show axed amid sexual harassment scandal

Evelina Iaccino |20 Aprile 2017, 11:23

Bill O'Reilly show axed amid sexual harassment scandal

But the attention surrounding the accusations against O'Reilly - prompting protests outside Fox News headquarters in Midtown Manhattan - would have made it hard for any advertiser to return to the program.

In addition to those women, former Fox News contributor Wendy Walsh and an unnamed woman said they had called the Fox News hotline to report sexual harassment by O'Reilly. The network's parent company, 21st Century Fox, announced the move in a statement Wednesday. O'Reilly has lost his job at Fo. FILE - In this October 1, 2015 file photo, host Bill O'Reilly of "The O'Reilly Factor" on the Fox News Channel, poses for photos in the set in NY. "But you have to put some spine back into the Murdoch family and the Fox News Channel board because you are about to lose Bill O'Reilly".

Pope Francis shakes hands with TV host Bill O'Reilly, second from right, during his weekly general audience, at the Vatican, Wednesday, April 19, 2017. Next week, "Special Report with Bret Baier" will fill the 5-to-7-p.m. timeslot. FILE - In this April 6, 2016 file photo, Bill O'Reilly attends The Hollywood Reporter's "35 Most Powerful People in Media" celebration in NY.

O'Reilly has also attacked the likes of Kanye West, Jay-Z, Ludacris, Nas, 50 Cent, Eminem, Lupe Fiasco, Common and Mos Def while presenting The O'Reilly Factor on Fox. The news came after an investigation was initiated because of resurfaced claims that women were paid $13 million by the network and O'Reilly to keep quiet about sexual harassment and verbal abuse claims.

O'Reilly's downfall comes less than a year after the exit of Fox News founder and CEO, Roger Ailes, after it emerged he too was the subject of a series of sexual harassment lawsuits.

That certainly could happen, though it probably won't be easy. Carlson's settlement was for $20 million, and Fox News issued a public apology to Carlson.

O'Reilly's program often became as much about the host as it was the news. The settlements - involving women who have either worked with O'Reilly or appeared on his show - took place sporadically between 2002 and 2016.

That will be Tucker Carlson, whose show is moving to the 8 p.m. slot on Fox. O'Reilly is on a two-week vacation that on Wednesday took.

Ruddy, of Newsmax, said Wednesday, "I think Bill O'Reilly was the heart and soul of that network, and he has unparalleled and unchallenged talent". Otherwise, the network risked developing "a reputation as unfriendly to women, potentially turning off a lot of people", said Charles Taylor, a marketing professor at Villanova University. While Fox's two biggest rivals, CNN and MSNBC, would not be interested in hiring him, conservative upstarts like Newsmax or One America News (OANN) could be.

O'Reilly is also one of the country's most popular nonfiction authors. Its previous effort died in 2011, a casualty of the phone-hacking scandal at Rupert Murdoch's British newspapers.

O'Reilly first started knocking Snoop in 2005 and carried it on over the course of a number of years, mainly criticising him for his criminal record - he'd been arrested 11 times - and drug and gun crimes.

In a Wednesday memo to employees signed by all three Murdochs and provided to The Associated Press, Fox again emphasized its commitment to a workplace culture of "trust and respect".

Eyes will now focus on O'Reilly's replacement. Ousting O'Reilly, he said, "does not speak to a changed culture".